London

This poem by William Blake used imagery in a way that I found to be rather unique. Instead of appealing to the reader's sense of sight, smell, or touch, Blake almost exclusively engaged the reader's sense of hearing. The most predominant sound in the poem was crying which I thought symbolized the desperation of the people. Institutions of corruption, like the Church, the monarchy, and prostitution, all caused the people suffering. Blake pairs the source of the wails, the chimney-sweeper, soldier, and infant, with the instigator that prompts these cries. My favorite line was "In every voice, in every ban, the mind-forged manacles I hear." The citizens of London are caught in their daily struggles, trapped by powerful rulers like the king and the Church. Another strong piece of imagery was "how the youthful Harlot's curse blasts the new-born Infant's tear, and blights with plagues the Marriage hearse." This shows that even things as sacred as marriage cannot avoid the poison of corruption in London; the sacrament has been poisoned by prostitution. Blake paints a bleak, troublesome picture of London with his sounds, using the cries and wails of the people to tell his story.